Battle Of Hudson

Note that all NYR, NYI and NJ telecasts will be blacked out on VERSUS, but aired on NBC.

April 11
7:00 PIT vs. OTT – Game 1 – VERSUS
10:00 DAL vs. VAN – Game 1 – VERSUS

April 12
7:00 CGY vs. DET – Game 1 – VERSUS

April 13
9:00 DAL vs. VAN – Game 2 – VERSUS

April 14
3:00 NYR vs. ATL – Game 2 – NBC
3:00 PIT vs. OTT – Game 2 – NBC
7:30 NYI vs. BUF – Game 2 – VERSUS

April 15
1:00 CGY vs. DET – Game 2 – NBC
6:00 OTT vs. PIT – Game 3 – VERSUS
8:30 VAN vs. DAL – Game 3 – VERSUS

April 16
7:00 BUF vs. NYI – Game 3 – VERSUS
10:00 NSH vs. SJ – Game 3 – VERSUS

April 17
7:00 OTT vs. PIT – Game 4 – VERSUS
10:00 DET vs. CGY – Game 3 – VERSUS

April 18
7:00 BUF vs. NYI – Game 4 – VERSUS
10:00 NSH vs. SJ – Game 4 – VERSUS

April 19
7:00 PIT vs. OTT – Game 5 – VERSUS
10:00 DAL vs. VAN – Game 5 OR DET vs. CGY – Game 5 – VERSUS

April 20
7:00 NYI vs. BUF – Game 5 – VERSUS
9:00 SJ vs. NSH – Game 5 – VERSUS

April 21
3:00 CGY vs. DET – Game 5 – NBC
8:00 VAN vs. DAL – Game 6 – VERSUS

April 22
1:00 OTT vs. PIT – Game 6 – NBC
1:00 ATL vs. NYR – Game 6 – NBC
7:00 BUF vs. NYI – Game 6 – VERSUS
10:00 DET vs. CGY – Game 6 OR NSH vs. SJ – Game 6 – VERSUS

April 23
7:00 NYR vs. ATL – Game 7 – VERSUS
10:00 DAL vs. VAN – Game 7 – VERSUS

April 24
7:00 PIT vs. OTT – Game 7 – VERSUS
9:00 SJ vs. NSH – Game 7 – VERSUS

The Isles completed their improbable week long journey by first giving me a heart attack by allowing the Devils to tie the game with less than 1 second on the clock, but then by winning a shootout on two gorgeous shots by Satan and Kozlov, and two beautiful poke checks by Dubie. Toronto fans must be having a fit right now, not making the playoffs as a result of a shootout. But who cares!!!! The Isles are going to the dance!!!! More tomorrow, I’m too excited to type. WOOOOOOOOOOOOOO HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!

Good for the Islanders, they get the win.

We’ll get an update for you on Vancouver-Phoenix later, and then I have to start working on my SFM Playoff Preview (Or at least get some of it done), so Derek will be ostensibly running this asylum until Tuesday/Wednesday.

I’m glad. Good for them. Good for Nolan! And a big boo to the NHL for this stupid freaking gimmick actually deciding the final playoff spot!!!!! That should never happen.

To be honest, as a rival fan, I respect what the Isles have done here. Wade Dubielewicz’ performance the final four games was as clutch as it gets. He proved he should’ve been the Islander backup all year long. Good for him! I hope he silenced Tom Chorske.

It would’ve been a crime of epic proportions if the Islanders had lost this game. A game in which the Devils barely broke a sweat until that Madden goal. Give the Devils credit for trying hard at the end and making it tough on their opponents. Maybe a little too close for comfort for my co-host Gary Harding and for our Isles’ blog contributor Rob. But congrats to you. You’re in!

And a date with Buffalo awaits. Get ready!

A freaking skills competition is going to determine if the Islanders make it.

This is wrong on so many levels! This is not how you decide a final playoff spot. But hey. The Isles have nobody to blame but themselves for this crazy predicament. They had it won but didn’t do the job, allowing a fluky deflection by Madden to give the Devils life. And they didn’t clear the zone in that final wild sequence which resulted in Mad Dog’s second with less than a tick left.

Well, all of Canada is watching. This is nuts.

Just Unbelievable. I don’t want to win this way. I want the Isles to win, I don’t want Toronto in the playoffs, folks, I’ll be honest.

If the Islanders don’t win this overtime, they are going to regret it for a long time. Especially when you consider that the Devils went thru the motions until Madden’s redirect with just over four left.

Here we go!

Madden scores with 0.8 seconds left. This has to be a joke right?

Well, it looks like I could be right about my hunch a few nights ago:

And you know every Islander fan will be watching intently on the scoreboard as they take on the Flyers knowing their team is very much alive. Something tells me the Isles are going to make it. I don’t know why.

That’s what I said Thursday during an entry.

It looks like it will be the first time since 1994 that all three metroarea teams will qualify for the postseason. And if you include Buffalo upstate, that’s four. The Sabres will be preparing for the Battle of New York ironically. Maybe it was destiny that Ted Nolan would face his old club. As I write that, the Devils get a nice redirect from John Madden to make things interesting. The Isles can’t actually blow this, can they? There’s four minutes left.

Up until this point, this was a freaking pathetic showing by a team that prides itself on perfection. I’ll bet Rob and every Isles fan can’t bare to watch.

The Islanders are going to win, simple as that.